Carpeting may be provided in rectangular pieces or tiles which are laid down side-by-side and fastened to the decking or floor, usually with adhesives. This facilitates carpet installation and allows the installer to create patterns for example, or to easily carpet around permanent obstacles such as pillars, with a minimum of cutting and/or tedious measurements. Such installations also eliminate the need for stretching and seaming the carpet, tasks which are difficult but required for conventional carpeting installations.
While such tiles or squares are easily installed, removal is a difficult proposition, due to the adhesive securing employed. This can be especially difficult when the carpet tiles have a foam backing since remnants of the foam normally remain adhered to the decking and must be scraped off or otherwise removed before a new carpet or other covering is installed.